08 SMR510 - first time husky owner

Greetings,

I just got my first husqvarna (2008 510 SMR) and am overall happy with the purchase! This is the 14th motorcycle I've owned, but it's the first husky. I am the third owner of the bike but it only has 1400 miles on it. Due to the limited available information on this bike, I thought I'd post up and let any other newbies know what I've discovered:

1. You'll need to grease the lower shock linkage. Mine wasn't totally dry, but definitely needed some attention.

2. After PU kit + PCV + AutoTune installed the bike runs stronger. Good investment - but not great. The bike ran fine stock. It is definitely louder now! Earplugs are a must for me. If you have the money, I recommend it. If not, save your coin for a new chain and tires.

3. Double and triple check all bolts and fasteners. The bike vibrates a lot. I caught a number of bolts that needed to be snugged up. Recently the entire fuel injection system slipped off the intake boot!!! As you can imagine, the bike barely ran... Simple fix, but until I discovered the real problem, I thought the fuel pump went bad.

4. Examine the wheel bearings. One of my rear wheel bearings was all screwed up because the little spring that's in there came apart... it was grinding on the bearing and basically turning into metal dust.... I think I caught it in time, but at least a little damage was done.

5. Don't use the oil level window as an accurate gauge. When the proper amount of oil is in the engine, the window is completely full.

6. Depending on your weight, I loosened up the rear pre-load a bit to 100mm rider sag - and it helped. (Also, based on an article I read, I tried raising the forks to almost level with the triple clamps - but I did not like that feeling at all - back to stock)

7. The stock chain was crap. I'm not sure if the first two owners ever took care of the chain, but by the time I got it.... it was terrible! New chain = more power and better handling. Take care of your chains, people. That's one of my biggest pet peeves... people with thousands of dollars in aftermarket parts and a crappy chain that has never been cleaned or lubed correctly.


I'm sure there's a few more things I'm forgetting, but hopefully this helps at least one husky newbie like me. I'll be lurking around here more often - always hoping to learn more about my new ride!!

Welcome to the site and congrats on your first Husky.

Well Ive had my 08 smr 510 for almost a year now and ended up getting a little cocky with the wheelies and looped it out...needless to say I've got the bike all cosmetically fixed but as a huge downfall I've bent the lower triple clamps! I've been searching for something to do to resolve this problem but nothing. I can't find decently priced after market clamps and can not find anyone or any company that has something I can replace them with. Was hoping you could have some suggestions for me